Making certain mistakes as an author can have serious consequences. You have to know the common mistakes and how to avoid them. Here is a list of some common mistakes that most book authors make at least once in their life.
Not Giving Enough Importance To Marketing
How well a book has been marketed to the target audience determines how successful the sales will be. Your book might be extraordinary, but it will fall flat if the readers don’t know about it. When publishing the book yourself, you must treat it like a new business. For it to do well, you must make adequate marketing efforts to get it known amongst the target customers. You can also hire a book writing coach like Catherine Nikkel to guide you in the necessary things you need to do in writing and publishing your book.
Focus on targeted marketing. A book can easily be successful if the author invests time and effort into promoting and marketing their book to the right reader base. You cannot market your book to all potential readers. J.D. Barker gives advice on how to connect with your most valuable readers, those who are truly invested in you and your work to create a growing fanbase. Try to figure out the audience for the book as early as possible and target your promotion and marketing campaigns to these audiences.
Not Paying Enough Attention to Professional Editing
Editing is by far the best investment you make in your book. When traditional publishers publish a book, they go through multiple editing sessions by various editors before publication. For readers, the first impression is everything, so if they find numerous mistakes and errors on the first ten pages of your book, they might not finish reading it. Worse, they might even leave a negative online review mentioning the mistakes.
Regarding editing, you get what you paid for. So if you get your great aunt Mildred to edit your book at a bargain cost, the odds of your book having a lot of typos and errors will be very high. To avoid that, you need to invest in a professional editor for your book.
And it is best not to self-edit your book, no matter how talented you are. You might still be in the zone and miss out on many errors. So get a credible and professional book editor who comes highly recommended to edit your book so you can achieve the success your book deserves.
Rushing The Publishing Process
Many people think that writing the book is the most challenging part while getting the book ready for publication is what requires the most time and effort. Some publishers will make insane promises, such as printing your book within a month. But you must remember that traditional publishers take 1-2 years to bring the book up to their standards and release it.
If you wish to self-publish a book within an expedited timeline, you will have to make major concessions that will likely harm your book’s quality. So take your time and go through every process diligently.
Not Going Through The Publishing Contract
Many publishing companies tend to take advantage of first-time authors. This is why it is crucial that you properly read the contract of the publishing company that you are considering. The publishing contract is a legal document that is binding. If done correctly, it is supposed to stipulate all the likely scenarios in which an author can incur extra fees beyond the upfront costs during the publishing process.
You need to clarify everything in the contract before signing it by asking the publishing representative for clarification if you don’t understand anything. It should be a red flag if you see that the publishing consultant cannot provide you with all the clarifications you need. You should also tread carefully if you see that the contract is only one page long.
Not taking Enough Professional Advice
Being a self-published author, one of the best things is that you have far more control over publishing your book. Regardless, you will still benefit greatly if you consider the feedback or concerns put forward by the publishing services staff. The publishing house staff are experienced in publishing and have published many books to know what will be the best scenario and the best choices that would gear your book towards success.
They know technical matters that are relevant and timely to publishing your book, so it would be wise to consider those suggestions. You will benefit more from listening to the publishers when they tell you to make some alterations or do something about the design or layout, and how you should include your author bio. You should allow their experience to help you be more successful.
Not Learning About The Publishing Process Enough
Many self-publishing companies can take advantage of first-time authors due to their lack of knowledge of the whole publishing process. Many authors don’t know the difference between marketing and distribution. If they are confused about these processes, they might think that they are getting a great deal from the publishing company when they are being offered just the basics.
If you are confused about any of the terms or processes, you need to ask the publishing representative to explain everything to you in simple words, so you understand everything. If they cannot explain everything to you in plain words, you should go with another publisher.
Summing Up
There is no reason to despair, as many independent bookstores will give the local authors a chance as long as there is the option of a return on the book and they feel that the book has good potential. So go through the mistakes noted in this article, ensure you don’t make them and get ready with your information before heading to the local bookstore to discuss stocking your book. We wish you the best of luck with your new venture.